Writer: Gordon Strong
American Porter: A robust dark brown ale
Often overlooked by its bigger, bolder, stout cousin; porter still has a loyal following. Find out the history and keys to brew one of its sub-styles, the American porter.
Catharina Sour
Catharina sour — the fruited sour beer style that originated in Brazil — has continued to evolve and catch the attention of brewers across the world since hitting the international national stage just a few years ago. Learn to brew your own Catharina sour in time for summer with standard kettle-souring techniques and a whole lot of fresh fruit.
Catharina Sour with Cupuaçu and Pitaya
Catharina Sour with Cupuaçu and Pitaya Recipe courtesy of Chico Milani, ACervA Catarinense (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.050 FG = 1.008IBU = 7 SRM = 3 ABV = 5.5% Cupuaçu (Theobroma grandilorum)
Cervejaria UNIKA’s Wild Guava clone
Araçá is a Brazilian fruit with a flavor like guava and apple; guava is an acceptable substitute. Maracujá is passion fruit. The recipe uses the pulp of the fruit, with seeds, skins, and stems removed
Simply Saison
With roots in the agrarian lifestyle in northern Europe, many brewers pigeon-hole saisons to look and taste a certain way. But the truth is that it is a fairly diverse class of farmhouse ales. Learn about many of its renditions and a recipe.
Gordon Strong’s Saison
I like my saisons like my cocktails, with some rye in them. In this case, I’m using some flaked rye but malted rye can be substituted.
Pastry Stout: Have your cake and drink it too
While sometimes derided among lovers of traditional beer styles, the fact is that pastry stouts are popular and for a reason . . . they can be delicious. Find out what it takes to brew one yourself.
Sapwood Cellars’ Flaked clone
This is their Sapwood Cellars’ Flaked (2021) beer, which is described as an imperial oatmeal stout with coconut and vanilla, and weighs in at 10.5% ABV.
Gordon Strong’s Grape Ale
This grape ale example is based on the version I made with Cervejaria 4 Árvores in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 2018.
Bring on the Warmth
Get tips and recipes for brewing three high-ABV styles — barleywine, wheatwine, and imperial stout — that you can brew now to help shake off the frost in the dead of winter.
Winter’s Imperial Stout
Imperial Stout Recipe (5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)OG = 1.097 FG = 1.027IBU = 70 SRM = 100 ABV = 9.5% Ingredients12 lbs. (5.4 kg) U.K. pale ale malt3 lbs. (1.4 kg) Munich II
Winter’s Wheatwine
A big, high-gravity recipe to brew a classic wheatwine, but with a new school hop lineup.
